Guitar News

Earlier this week, which arguably amounts to be the biggest piece of news to hit the Musical Instrument industry in decades, Gibson filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. Lots of people saw this coming, and for many, the press release that hit Tuesday morning was more of a validation of long-standing predictions than it was shocking or alarming in any way.

But like any industry-rocking headline, this rupture has spurred all sorts of reactions, discussion and conjecture. Gear forums and Facebook groups are overflowing with both fearful and optimistic predictions on what's coming next for the historical brand. There was even a fake article circulating this week about how Joe Bonamassa plans to take control of operations. Many were taken in by the supposed news brief . . . . Read More

Despite how viable and popular fingerstyle technique is, there is no denying that guitar picks are the dominant choice for most guitar players out there. When you just start out with this instrument, a pick is just a necessity which you pay very little attention to. After all, just holding it correctly and getting a decent tone during picking is an achievement of its own. With that said, there is much more to picks that we are lead to believe at first. Today we are going to get deep into this topic as well as show you some of the best guitar pick packs, brands and combos.

The Universal Rules Of Guitar Picks

Before we get to any specifics, we have to cover the basic, most universal rules which govern your use of picks. These aren’t dependent on your individual skill, nor your playing style. If you were to ask some guitar players, they would probably say that picks are governed by some supernatural force. Here’s the deal. You will lose picks, all the time, no matter what. Murphy is there to spice things up as well. Chances are you will lose your picks when you need them the most, which leads us to the first rule regarding guitar picks . . . . Read More

Guitar players have a variety of accessories and tools at their disposal, all of which are aimed at enhancing one’s performance. Truth is that some of these tools are more popular than others, especially in the main stream. Guitar chairs and stools are often forgotten or written off as unnecessary. After all, there’s not much that can’t be solved with a decent strap, right? Guitar stools are actually a very useful piece of kit that is used every day by numerous artists. Today we are going to talk about stools, chairs and show you some of the best picks on the market right now.

When Are Guitar Chairs or Stools Useful?

Stage performance goes far beyond rocking out with your metal band. There are performances which include one or two artists and their acoustic guitars. As you probably know, acoustic guitars are far more comfortable to play when sitting down. Generally speaking, guitar chairs and stools are there to alleviate unnecessary stress and offer more comfort. We also use them for practice. As a matter of fact, practicing on a guitar chair puts you in the optimal body position . . . . Read More

You finally bought that guitar you've been eyeing for a long time. You open the case, gently remove it from its plush cradle, and hold it in your arms. A fresh pick in your fingers, you begin an elegant and complex arpeggio that ranges across the fretboard. Suddenly, right in the middle of the run, the strings start buzzing. You check your technique and it's fine. So what's the problem?

Rest assured that it's not the quality of your guitar. The problem lies in the process of mass production. Without it, most guitars would not be affordable. To respond to demand and maximize profit, the factories build them and ship them as fast as possible. Very often, the human touch is involved, but setting up a guitar correctly is a painstaking, personal process that is best handled on an individual basis . . . . Read More

In 1954 California inventor Leo Fender along with his cohorts Freddie Tavares and George Fullerton set out to design a guitar that would build on the success of Fender’s Telecaster and Precision Bass. Seeking to create a guitar with more tonal versatility as well as improved playability and comfort, the trio came up with the Stratocaster. Adapted from the profile of the P-Bass, its double-cutaway, deeply contoured solid body offered easier access to the higher frets and nestled more comfortably against the player’s body. The addition of a middle single-coil pickup gave the Strat greater tonal versatility than its Telecaster stablemate’s two-pickup design.

The original Strat had a 3-way pickup selector switch. Players soon discovered they could engage two pickups simultaneously by using a toothpick to wedge the switch between the “factory” settings and thus create unique tones. As we’ll see, Fender was paying attention, and over the years switching and wiring grew more sophisticated.

The Strat also had a cavity routed into its back, housing a through-body pivoting bridge that anchored the strings. Strat players began modifying their guitars’ standard fixed bridge by removing two of its five retaining springs and adjusting the anchoring screws allowing the bridge to “float.” By doing this, they could move the tremolo arm that was attached to the bridge up and down, thus modulating the pitch of the played notes. Jimi Hendrix, Ike Turner, and Jeff Beck were all notorious for their enthusiastic use of these pitch-bending tremolo effects.

But vigorously yanking on the trem bar caused the guitar to go out of tune. In response, guitarists such as Ron Wood and Eric Clapton modified their bridges to remain fixed while retaining the floating tremolo. Others did away with the tremolo entirely leading to what are now referred to as “hard-tail” Strats. Here too, Fender was watching, and as the Strat evolved, new models incorporated many of the modifications pioneered by these artists and their guitar techs.

In 1965 Leo Fender sold his company to CBS—a move that many Fender fans associate with a change in the quality of Fender instruments. Nonetheless, the business grew, and in 1977 the company introduced 5-way pickup switching and a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup. This provided a hum-canceling effect in positions 2 and 4 on the selector switch, creating the tones popularized by iconic guitarist such as Jimi Hendrix, Dick Dale, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour. Today, the 5-way switch and reverse-wound middle pickup are standard on most Strats.

In 1982 Fender introduced a version of the Stratocaster produced under its Squier trademark—a division spun off to create value-priced instruments. Originally built in Japan, it became one of the company’s most successful models. Since then, Fender has produced Stratocasters in Korea, Indonesia, and China, aiming to provide instruments that retain the Fender heritage and quality standards while being very affordable.

A group of Fender employees and investors bought the company from CBS in 1985 reinvigorating a business largely lacking in leadership that understood music gear and musicians. Following the buyout, Fender initially built its instruments in overseas factories that had the skills to create instruments meeting the company’s standards.

Later in 1985, Fender’s flagship factory began production in Corona, California. This was followed two years later with the opening of its second North American factory in Ensenada, Mexico. That same year—1987—Fender’s revered Custom Shop was launched and began building some of the finest Stratocasters ever.

Since then Fender has continued to rethink its flagship Stratocaster, introducing dozens of model variations with unique capabilities and cosmetics. Yet the essential shape, playability, and sound of the Strat remains unchanged six decades later. [Musicians Friend]

We’ll next look at each of these variables to come up with the strings most likely to work for you and your guitar.

Electric Guitar String Gauge Playing Characteristics

As we discussed above, lighter strings are easier to play. If you aspire to be a shredder burning up the fretboard with lighting-fast leads and intense rhythm chording, you’ll want to use lighter gauges. That said, if you’re a metal player who uses detuned scales such drop-D tuning, heavier gauges are needed. Blues and classic rock guitarists who use a lot of string bends often settle on medium gauges that combine reasonably easy bending with more sustain and fatter, richer, darker tone. Mainstream jazz guitarists typically use heavy-gauge flatwound strings since they don’t typically do a lot of note bending and want a broad tone spectrum.

Providing music for television is a combination of creating, performing, recording, and mixing. It requires understanding the unique needs of the shows, then executing and delivering the highest quality tracks possible. It’s about learning to minimize and say a lot with a little, and, most importantly, about supporting stories with sound and emotion.

Many of the shows I write for are guitar-centric, and that means you must be as versatile as possible as a player. From ambient soundscapes played on a baritone, to swampy bluegrass featuring flattops and cigar-box guitars, to detuned 8-string hard rock—you have to be ready for anything. It is also important to know how to use every tool at your disposal, from soft synths and drum machines to orchestral sample libraries and live-player orchestration . . . . Read More

After decades of largely being associated with country and rockabilly, Gretsch introduced the Center Block series in 2013 in an effort to appeal to guitarists who prefer a little more volume and gain. The series, which includes entry-level Streamliners, mid-level Electromatics, and high-end Japanese-built models, pairs Gretsch’s trademark laminated-maple semi-hollow construction with a spruce block running down the center of the body to reduce unwanted feedback.

Now, with the release of the center-block-equipped G6609TFM Players Edition Broadkaster (as well as the more compact G6659TFM Broadkaster Jr. single-cut), Gretsch seems poised to break down even more doors, thanks to the Broadkasters’ new Full’Tron pickups. The company’s first U.S.-made pickup debut in around 40 years, Full’Trons were designed specifically for Center Block instruments and feature alnico 5 and 2 magnets in the neck and bridge, respectively . . . . Read More

Buying an electric guitar is a very personal process, with many things to consider before you make your final choice. It’s not just a case of picking something with a nice color – you are usually parting with a substantial chunk of hard-earned cash, ranging anywhere from $100 to $2000 – or more – for some guitars, and therefore patience is required to find something that really suits you.

Whatever level you’re at and whatever budget you’re on, check out our chart, where we highlight some of the very best guitars on the market today, before more detailed summaries of each instrument . . . . Read More

Play guitar? Like rock music? Chili peppers? Hendrix? Indie? All of the above? Read these facts. If you thought the instrument (or the genre) was good before, well, brace yourself.

People have invented guitars that should not be physically possible - The longest guitar in the world is over 13 meters long. That’s about 40 feet, or 6-7x as tall as you are. The strings are thick, but because they’re so long, the same pitch is maintained as if you were playing on an ordinary-sized one, which we think is pretty cool . . . . Read More